Click here for Part 2 of 2: Driving the Beast
There were quite a few surprises driving the awesome and controversial Nissan GT-R. Having the opportunity to drive one on a twisty mountain road favored by motorcyclists was a thrill. It’s very “mechanical”, quite large and my impression more of a competitor to the Audi R8 than the Porsche 911 Twin Turbo.
Background: This 2010 model has about 2000 miles on it. The MSRP was over $80,000. It features a 6-speed dual clutch paddle-shift rear transaxle. The 3.8 liter twin-turbo V-6 produces 485 hp at 6400rpm and 434 ft. lbs of torque at 3200 rpm. Known for consistent deep 3-second 0-60mph blasts and high 11-second quarter mile times, the biggest controversy was the factory reported Nurburgring time of 7:29, beating far lighter, 600 hp plus cars like the Porsche Carrera GT and Pagani Zonda F.
The owner has had some notable cars in the past and is no stranger to track days. Cars like a track prepped Acura NSX, two E46 BMW M3s, and an ’04 Porsche 911 GT3. Currently besides the Nissan is a ’08 Porsche Cayman. He knows his cars.
Interior Impressions:
The first thing noticed is the deep, very supportive seats although I found myself sitting rather high up; almost oddly so for a performance car. The seats have an intuitive rotating and sliding control for electric motor adjustments. The door armrest and side panel is deeply padded and very comfortable. Looking outward, the visibility is very good, partially due to the high seating position. Even the race car in Speed GT seems to have a very high seating position. However due to the width and design, despite the overall visibility it’s hard to place the outer edge of the car during my brief time with it.
The rear seats are deep, but not a lot of leg room. It’s really more of a 3-seater like many smaller 2+2 coupes. The legroom is behind the passenger but the driver’s seat once adjusted pretty much eliminates a 4th passenger option.
Gauges are always welcome and the driver configurable display is a real treat. Information in the custom configuration set by the owner was showing boost level, engine oil temp, oil pressure, coolant temp, transmission oil temp and transmission oil pressure. It would take time to get used to reading them quickly but it’s great to have that information.
Telescoping steering is intuitively found but the tilt function is not. Believe it or not, a look at the owner’s manual was needed. Turns out the levers are next to each other. Go figure.
Now it was time to drive it, detailed in Part 2 of 2.
______
Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc. Reach me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!
There were quite a few surprises driving the awesome and controversial Nissan GT-R. Having the opportunity to drive one on a twisty mountain road favored by motorcyclists was a thrill. It’s very “mechanical”, quite large and my impression more of a competitor to the Audi R8 than the Porsche 911 Twin Turbo.
Background: This 2010 model has about 2000 miles on it. The MSRP was over $80,000. It features a 6-speed dual clutch paddle-shift rear transaxle. The 3.8 liter twin-turbo V-6 produces 485 hp at 6400rpm and 434 ft. lbs of torque at 3200 rpm. Known for consistent deep 3-second 0-60mph blasts and high 11-second quarter mile times, the biggest controversy was the factory reported Nurburgring time of 7:29, beating far lighter, 600 hp plus cars like the Porsche Carrera GT and Pagani Zonda F.
The owner has had some notable cars in the past and is no stranger to track days. Cars like a track prepped Acura NSX, two E46 BMW M3s, and an ’04 Porsche 911 GT3. Currently besides the Nissan is a ’08 Porsche Cayman. He knows his cars.
Interior Impressions:
The first thing noticed is the deep, very supportive seats although I found myself sitting rather high up; almost oddly so for a performance car. The seats have an intuitive rotating and sliding control for electric motor adjustments. The door armrest and side panel is deeply padded and very comfortable. Looking outward, the visibility is very good, partially due to the high seating position. Even the race car in Speed GT seems to have a very high seating position. However due to the width and design, despite the overall visibility it’s hard to place the outer edge of the car during my brief time with it.
The rear seats are deep, but not a lot of leg room. It’s really more of a 3-seater like many smaller 2+2 coupes. The legroom is behind the passenger but the driver’s seat once adjusted pretty much eliminates a 4th passenger option.
Gauges are always welcome and the driver configurable display is a real treat. Information in the custom configuration set by the owner was showing boost level, engine oil temp, oil pressure, coolant temp, transmission oil temp and transmission oil pressure. It would take time to get used to reading them quickly but it’s great to have that information.
Telescoping steering is intuitively found but the tilt function is not. Believe it or not, a look at the owner’s manual was needed. Turns out the levers are next to each other. Go figure.
Now it was time to drive it, detailed in Part 2 of 2.
______
Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc. Reach me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!
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